birthday

"In any field, find the strangest thing and then explore it." -John Archibald Wheeler Sometimes, things get difficult. Sometimes, there are challenges you have to face that you never even expected, much less were prepared for. And sometimes, it seems like there's no point in even holding on to hope that things will get better. But as long, as The National would tell you, as you're no Runaway, you've still got something worth striving for. Even if there's something newer, shinier, and more powerful than you. Image credit: NASA / Hubble Space Telescope. Even on Mars. Nine years (and three…
"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?" -Satchel Paige Today marks another year and another trip around the Sun for me. For you, and me, and everything on Earth that makes it through another year on this world, there's a whole lot we get to experience. Image credit: NASA / ISS Expedition 13. Some things are tiny: the Earth's rotation slows by about two millionths of a second each year, while some are large: we hurtle over 900 million kilometers in outer space as we orbit around the Sun. Our Earth spins just over 366 times on its axis, while our one revolution around the…
Happy Birthday to the Tangled up in Blue Guy, Mike Haubrich! Mike is a good guy who is involved with all sorts of media-related things, ranging from writing articles for the Los Angeles Times and directing the Atheists Talk Radio Show in Minnesota to helping the HMS Beagle Project in the UK. Besides being my friend, Mike also has endorsed my own bid to be the Official Antarctica Blogger. In short, the world is a better and richer place because Mike is here. Many thanks, Mike, for the many kind and selfless things you do for so many people. Here's my gift to you.
As Alice kindly announced, today is my 30th birthday. The day got off to a rough start, but a little time ignoring work, eating a lovely organic lunch, reading some Pride and Prejudice, and then eating too much ice cream has turned the day into quite a lovely experience. Anyways, before my natal day expires, I thought I'd seize the chance to wax on a bit about where my thoughts wandered as my third decade waned. For months, I've been looking forward to my 30th birthday. I'm a mother to a two year old. I'm in my second year on the tenure track. I own my second house. That combination of…
Dearest Minnow, Happy Birthday! I am so proud of my "big girl" who knows her colors, can count to three, has seven word sentences, loves books to the point of memorization, solves puzzles repeatedly, pees on the potty regularly, cares for and cuddles her "baby" and stuffed puppy, sings songs spontaneously, worries about how "Nanna has a big owie," pedals her tricycle, and has words associated with most of the letters in the alphabet ("apple, baby, cat, daddy..."). I'm amazed by how much you've grown so much in just the past few months, and I look forward to being amazed by your…
December 13 is my birthday! Yippee, you say, how old am I? Old enough to not say... I will shamelessly mention the Amazon wish list linked from my contact page, and remind you that Omni Brain has a tip jar in the sidebar (shared with Steve). But I'm not desperate for anything and there are plenty of deserving charities who need your money (I recommend UNIFEM). I'm thankful they are helping people in a more direct way than I can. Anyway. I'm celebrating aging with a new tattoo, and am very excited about it! I've been interested in intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs…
She really hasn't changed a bit. Well, maybe a little. Skatje (since everyone asks how it's pronounced, I'll spell it out: scot-ya) is turning 17 today, and guess how she's going to celebrate? She's hosting the first ever meeting of the UMM Campus Atheists, Skeptics, and Humanists, with free pizza, free discussion, and free thought at the Morris Pizza Hut, at 7:00. She's a regular little godless debutante, I guess.